{"id":367,"date":"2026-05-19T06:04:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T06:04:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=367"},"modified":"2026-05-19T06:04:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T06:04:11","slug":"8m-excelsior-club-rezoning-sought-in-charlotte-a-year-after-plans-unveiled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=367","title":{"rendered":"$8M Excelsior Club rezoning sought in Charlotte a year after plans unveiled"},"content":{"rendered":"

A year after revealing a new plan for the historic Excelsior Club in west Charlotte<\/a>, a developer has taken the next step to try to turn the site back into a nightclub.<\/p>\n

Read more NC high school track team seeks review after state championship disqualification<\/a><\/p>\n

Local developer Shawn Kennedy<\/a> of Kennedy Properties & Development, in partnership with Tim Sittema of Crosland Southeast, has proposed a $7.8 million plan that involves demolishing the original 1932 structure and constructing a near-replica on Beatties Ford Road<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The club was a vibrant social and cultural hub<\/a> for Black residents, acting as a cornerstone of nightlife throughout the era of segregation and after. However, as integration provided new options, attendance declined.<\/p>\n

The building closed for repairs 10 years ago and never reopened. Multiple attempts to revive the historic property have so far been unsuccessful.<\/p>\n

Historical Excelsior Inc. filed a rezoning petition with the city on Friday \u201cto develop the site with a nightclub\/bar.\u201d Historical Excelsior is listed as a nonprofit registered to Kennedy, state business registration records show.<\/p>\n

Last May, Kennedy said he had signed a contract to buy Excelsior Club<\/a> from owner Kenwood Investments. Kenwood, based in Sonoma, California, has owned the property since 2019.<\/p>\n

The property is still owned by Kenwood, Mecklenburg County property records show. Kennedy said last year that he had site control of the property.<\/p>\n

Kennedy\u2019s plan is to raze the building<\/a> which he said is no longer salvageable after years of neglect, then rebuild a near replica for a nightclub. The project includes a restaurant, meeting rooms and museum space. His plan is supported by $3 million in public funding<\/a>, with $1.5 million each from the city and county.<\/p>\n

Kennedy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.<\/p>\n

Additional information about the plans was not immediately available in city filings.<\/p>\n

The Excelsior Club is a historically and architecturally significant landmark.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1944 by James \u201cJimmie\u201d Robert McKee and his wife, Minnie, the club was Charlotte\u2019s first exclusive nightclub for Black residents and served as a vital social hub during the Jim Crow era. It was a primary gathering place for Black political and community leaders to network and develop strategies related to the civil rights movement.<\/p>\n

Read more Leighton Ford has found room for grief, purpose and hope \u2014 right in his backyard<\/a><\/p>\n

The club also was listed as a safe haven in The Negro Motorist Green Book from 1963-1967. Over its decades of operation, it hosted music legends such as Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole and James Brown.<\/p>\n

Architecturally, the building is one of the last remaining Art Moderne-style structures in Charlotte, with its current design dating back to renovations in 1952.<\/p>\n

In 2019, Excelsior Club was added to the National Trust for Historic Preservation<\/a>\u2019s list of 11 most endangered historic places. But since sitting vacant, the property has decayed and listed in city property records as unoccupiable.<\/p>\n

The site has faced multiple failed revival attempts over the last decade.<\/p>\n

A previous plan by Kenwood Investments was to establish a 1950s-designed boutique hotel and museum stalled following a May 2023 community meeting, primarily due to a shortfall of parking spaces. While city officials attempted to help secure additional land, the parking deficit prevented the project from moving forward.<\/p>\n

In 2019, Kenwood purchased the property<\/a> for $1.35 million. Kenwood has not responded to multiple requests for comment over the past years, and again on Monday.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s another idea for the property.<\/p>\n

The Charlotte Museum of History<\/a>, led by CEO Terri White, opposed the demolition of the landmark. White argued that the original building should be saved, citing Charlotte\u2019s \u201chorrible reputation of tearing things down\u201d as a cycle that must be broken.<\/p>\n

The museum\u2019s vision involves a $20 to 25 million rehabilitation project<\/a> to restore the existing two-story structure and add a connecting Black History Center focused on regional history.<\/p>\n

Former club owner Ken Koontz has expressed support for the demolition-and-replica approach, calling Kennedy\u2019s plan a \u201cbetter vision\u201d that is more \u201crealistic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Vote for The Observer\u2019s boys\u2019 high school athlete of the week (May 22, 2026)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Charlotte rezoning petition seeks to turn the historic Excelsior Club site on Beatties Ford Road into nightclub with a near-replica building and museum space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":366,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\n$8M Excelsior Club rezoning sought in Charlotte a year after plans unveiled - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=367\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"$8M Excelsior Club rezoning sought in Charlotte a year after plans unveiled - 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